Pole vault queen Isinbayeva eyes WR

Russia’s Yelena Isinbayeva during a press conference at the Qatari Olympic Committee auditorium ahead of the World Indoor Athletics Championships in Doha yesterday.

Russia’s Yelena Isinbayeva, notwithstanding a hiccup at last year’s world championships, does not do things by halves having completely dominated women’s pole vault for the last six years.
Reigning double Olympic and world champion, as well as three-time world indoor champion, the 27-year-old has set an incredible 27 world records, 15 outdoor and 12 indoor.
And the vaulter who says her dream is to star in a film alongside American actress Angelina Jolie has vowed not to stop there.
“This is my goal,” Isinbayeva said yesterday when asked whether a further record could be on the cards during the IAAF World Indoor Championships at the Aspire dome in the Qatari capital.
“I’m very hungry for the world record.
“It’s my first time in Doha and I’d like to make the competition unforgettable.”
Isinbayeva has stated that her goal was to stop her career at 5.20 metres. Her current world records stand at 5.06m outdoors and 5.00m indoors, something her rivals can but dream of.
That said, the Russian showed that complacency can come back to haunt an athlete when she bombed at last year’s World Athletics Championships in Berlin after failing to achieve a successful vault.
She lost to Poland’s Anna Rogowska who also uncharacteristically beat her in the London Grand Prix a couple of months before Berlin.
Scarily for her rivals, on whom Isinbayeva lauded some praise for having improved, the Russian revealed that she was in the form of her life.
“I’m in my best shape,” she said.
“In my last competition I jumped 4.85m. Other girls will only be my rivals over 5m.
“I jumped it six years ago.
“I’m happy they’re improving so well - it would be nice to have some more rivals.”
The main “competition” for Isinbayeva in Doha will likely come from Rogowska, who has a season’s best of 4.81m, Brazil’s Fabiana Murer (4.82) and fellow Russian Svetlana Feofanova, who has an all-time best of 4.88 but has managed only 4.75 this year.